![The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, flashes his wide smile during a press conference Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_326,w_4892,h_2751/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/55/01jt126h327nq36hbrrj.jpg "The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, flashes his wide smile during a press conference Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
The Jacksonville Jaguars sent shockwaves when they traded up for Travis Hunter in the NFL Draft. So far, the move has received widespread praise, as the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner has the potential to change the course of the franchise. But just recently, an NFL Insider revealed one crucial domino that could've prevented the deal from happening.
Mike Silver of The Athletic spent the draft with the Jacksonville brass and says that the Cleveland Browns wouldn't have traded the No. 2 pick if the Tennessee Titans had passed on quarterback Cam Ward.
"Before the trade with the Browns could become official, Cleveland would have to be on the clock with the No. 2 pick — and Ward, as expected, would have to be off the board. Had the Titans somehow pivoted and taken another player, or traded the pick to a team that did, the Browns would have called off the deal and taken Ward at 2."
Of course, the likelihood of this scenario taking place was highly unlikely. Early in the draft process, Tennessee set its sights on Ward, and even a month before they were set to pick, he was virtually a lock to get the nod.
Ultimately, the Jags agreed to give Cleveland their second and a fourth-round pick this year and their first-rounder in 2025 to move up to No. 2.
Later in the draft, the Jags managed to get an extra third-round pick for next year to recoup some of the assets they lost in the trade with the Browns, so you could make the case that the deal wasn't nearly as expensive as it originally seemed. Sure, the Jags would've surely liked to keep their first-rounder next year, but getting a player of Hunter's caliber was worth it.
Moreover, general manager James Gladstone routinely aced picks in later rounds of the draft as a member of the Los Angeles Rams front office. If that carries over to the Jags, they won't miss their 2026 first-round pick.
What would the Jaguars have done if they didn't trade up for Travis Hunter?
Had the Jacksonville Jaguars not been able to trade up for Travis Hunter, they could've pivoted to running back Ashton Jeanty or traded down, amass extra picks, and target wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
A couple weeks before the draft, Jeanty became the favorite to be the pick because of his ability to wear defenses down and take some of Trevor Lawrence's burden off his shoulders. However, once Ian Rapoport reported that Jacksonville was trying to make a bold move, his odds of going to the Jags decreased considerably.
On the other hand, McMillan was linked to the Jags because of Liam Coen's fondness for the wide receiver position. Had the team's brass targeted him, they might've traded down. The issue is that the Carolina Panthers, who picked at No. 8, ended up taking him, so he wouldn't have been available if they had moved to Nos. 9 or 10.
Ultimately, the Jacksonville Jaguars came out with the guy they wanted from the beginning. And while it's always fun to hypothize about what could've happened if Cam Ward hadn't gone to the Titans, this What If scenario had nearly a zero percent chance of happening.